Excellent central location , and friendly staff who will order you a grab taxi to get to seplilock animal parks and anywhere else , try sim sim the nearby fishing village for seafood , ask for a drop off at 88 restaurant and go at sunset its lovely.
the wifi was poor in the private rooms and could only be used in the common areas. the breakfast was either pancakes or eggybread with fresh fruit and coffee , i liked the place and stayed 3 nights.
Expedia.com
StayForLong
StayForLong
Very friendly and helpful staff. Got us a Grab taxi and took us outside to find it. Great breakfast and coffee (included), and you can take it up to the roof terrace to look over the sea. Wonderful. Room was clean and had an excellent view of the sea.
Solo female travellers.. stay here! As a somewhat older than most backpackers, I still opt for the social atmosphere and love to meet other travellers. I don't do bunk rooms anymore, so I lucked out with private room and shower, front facing ocean view room, AC for about $20/night. The best part was the people. The friendliness and great service - absolute 5 star! The girls managed to book me in last minute to activities (Turtle Island..wow!) that are normally booked out far in advance. I ran into them all over town, they all remembered my name and other details. I just cannot say enough about this crew!! Sandakan is a great jumping off point to do many cool things. Kinabangan River cruise was also a highlight. The staff at Backpackers were more than happy to store my luggage while away for nights at a time, and offer me shower and breakfast when I returned to gather my things. Met lots of other travellers, everyone was happy, friendly and interesting. Cool vibe and great art messages on all the walls drawn and painted by all the travellers. Rooftop patio really nice too, and laundry service. The breakfast was excellent (most places I stay do not measure up in that area). I've been traveling this way, all over the world for over 30 years, and this experience stands out for me more than most. Great job ladies, highly recommend!
Located right in the centre of Sandakan, and only a minute from the water front, and restaurants.
The hostel is clean, and the staff very friendly and helpful. The private room we had was spacious, if a little loud as it was over the main road, but that should be expected with hostels in the centre of a town.
It has a lovely roof terrace, with a great view of the water.
The breakfast is great here, with eggs and fruit being provided as well as the standard bread and jam.
All in, very good value and a nice hostel, in a good spot.
After so many great reviews, I was expecting something more. That said, it was acceptable. It is far from clean but not filthy either. I had booked a few months ahead and then confirmed a few days prior to my arrival and they were totally unprepared. Fortunately, there was a room but it opened directly onto reception and the lounge. They did scrounge around to get me clean bedding and towel which were damp. I assumed newly washed but not completely dried. Good location. Nice people. I had an early departure and one of the boys made me some scrambled eggs and toast. Tea, coffee on offer at all times.
Hello Blank, we are sorry about you having a disappointing stay in Sandakan. Some of the things that you mentioned are of course the things that we always keep in mind and try to upkeep the standards. However, it kept us thinking, because we do hope we have a boy who can make you scramble eggs, but we only have girls working here either receptionists or housekeepers. So we were wondering, is it really with us that you stayed with? Anyhow, we hope this does not stop you from keep travelling to Sandakan, because it is a really lovely town. Regards and all the best.
Having spent a number of days in dorms, we were keen for a comfortable private room and this is what we found at Sandakan Backpackers.
AC worked really well, clean white sheets, clean enough shared bathroom, nice staff, and good location near the seafront. Breakfast was okay, perhaps a little basic with toast, a bowl of ready-made hard boiled eggs, and some questionable spreads. Tea and coffee available all day!
But we would definitely come back!
